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Coco Martin and Gary V

Reyma Deveza

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/178218763441000 11.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Coco Martin and Gary Valenciano. <em>Photos from Gary V&#x27;s Facebook page</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Kapamilya actor Coco Martin opened up about his difficult childhood marked by family violence and emotional struggle, recalling how those early experiences shaped his outlook on life and success.</p><p>In the podcast &quot;Unshaken with Gary V: Stories of Grit and Grace,&quot; Martin told Gary Valenciano that he never thought that he would be part of the entertainment industry as an actor.</p><p>&quot;Broken family kami. Bata ako every night wala akong matandaan na maayos na tulog, parang gabi-gabi kinakabahan kami. Tatlo kaming magkakapatid kasi &#x27;yung father ko dati kapag nalalasing talaga sinasaktan niya &#x27;yung nanay ko every night &#x27;yon, kapag nakainom siya. Pero kapag hindi siya nakainom ang tatay ko naman sobrang bait, sobrang mahiyain. Kapag nakainom, nagi-split &#x27;yung personality, siya na siga sa buong lugar namin,&quot; Martin recalled.</p><p>Because of trauma, Martin had a problem speaking in school until one of his teachers in high school helped him to express his feelings.</p><p>&quot;Noong kinuwento ko humagulgol ako, tapos hiyang-hiya ako sa buong klase naming siyempre nga lalaki ako, tapos umiiyak ako sa harapan ng teacher ko. Tapos noong na-release ko &#x27;yon parang gumaan nagkaroon na ako ng ano na makapagsalita, nakakapag-recite na ako. Pero sabi ko siguro &#x27;yon &#x27;yung trauma doon sa pamilya na pinagdaanan ko,&quot; Martin said.</p><p>Because of what he went through as a child, Martin made a vow to build a better life for his future family.</p><p>&quot;Lahat nang mga naranasan hanggat maari ayaw ko ipaparanas sa magiging pamilya ko. Kaya ngayon sobra akong makapagsabi ng I love you. &#x27;Yung iba nga nawi-weirduhan sa akin, kapag halimbawa nakikita ako, kahit lalaki niyayakap ko. Kasi ngayon ako nakakapag-express, ngayon ko napapakita &#x27;yung nararamdaman ko. Dati kasi sobrang mahiyain ako at takot. Wala akong confidence, kasi nga hindi ako na-guide ng parents ko,&quot; Martin said.</p><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:655px;display:block" width="655"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1782183085034Coco.jpg" style="width:655px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="655"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"><em>Screen grab: Facebook/Gary Valenciano</em></span></span></span></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>Despite what happened between his parents, Martin said he never held a grudge against his father, but deeply felt compassion for his mother.</p><p>&quot;Kaya noong naghiwalay sila hindi kami against, lalo na ako. Mas better na maghiwalay para (matapos) na &#x27;yung nararamdaman ng nanay ko. Ang naapektuhan ang kapatid ko,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;Dahil ako ang panganay, alam ko na kung wala kang nanay at tatay ,sino ang tatayo para sa mga kapatid mo. Kaya ako nagsumikap kaya kahit takaw-away ako noon, hindi ko sinira ang buhay ko, hindi ako na-involve sa drugs. Sabi ko nga hindi man ako studious ang importante makatapos ako ng college, pilit kong tinapos ang college. ... Ang sabi ko importante may mangyari sa buhay ko,&quot;  Martin said.</p><p>He added: &quot;Ngayon noong eto na kahit paano ay okay na ang career ko, kumikita na ako ng konti talagang pinagpursigihan ko na maging maayos ang buhay ng mga kapatid ko.&quot;</p><p>In the podcast, Martin also talked about all the works he did in the past, how he started as an actor, his work as a creator, and more.   </p><p>On Monday, June 22, Martin returned to primetime television via the much-awaited series &quot;Sigabo&quot; with Montes, his long-time partner.</p><p>The debut episode of &quot;Sigabo&quot; has logged more than 404,000 concurrent viewers on Kapamilya Online Live on YouTube. </p><p>&quot;Sigabo&quot; airs on weeknights on AllTV2, A2Z, TV5, Kapamilya channel, Kapamilya online Live and iWant. </p><div> </div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS:</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VJR77A74tCs?autoplay=1&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IY0XVjbeXyo?autoplay=1&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DunYIRS7CwA?autoplay=1&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Coco Martin shared his early struggles in life, including a childhood marked by family violence and emotional trauma, in a conversation with musician Gary Valenciano on the podcast “Unshaken with Gary V: Stories of Grit and Grace.”</p>

Coco Martin shared his early struggles in life, including a childhood marked by family violence and emotional trauma, in a conversation with musician Gary Valenciano on the podcast “Unshaken with Gary V: Stories of Grit and Grace.”

Coco Martin opens up about childhood trauma, family struggles to Gary V

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Coco Martin opens up about childhood trauma, family struggles to Gary V

Reyma Deveza,

ABS-CBN News

Published June 23, 2026 12:10 PM PHT

Read More:

Coco Martin

Julia Montes

Gary Valenciano

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